I&#39;d read that when [renaming files in Git][1], you should commit any changes, perform your rename and then stage your renamed file. Git will recognise the file from the contents, rather than seeing it as a new untracked file, and keep the change history.

However, doing just this tonight I ended up reverting to `git mv`.

    &gt; $ git status
    # On branch master
    # Changes to be committed:
    #   (use &quot;git reset HEAD &lt;file&gt;...&quot; to unstage)
    #
    #    modified:   index.html
    #

I renamed my stylesheet in [Finder][2] from `iphone.css` to `mobile.css`:

    &gt; $ git status
    # On branch master
    # Changes to be committed:
    #   (use &quot;git reset HEAD &lt;file&gt;...&quot; to unstage)
    #
    #    modified:   index.html
    #
    # Changed but not updated:
    #   (use &quot;git add/rm &lt;file&gt;...&quot; to update what will be committed)
    #   (use &quot;git checkout -- &lt;file&gt;...&quot; to discard changes in working directory)
    #
    #    deleted:    css/iphone.css
    #
    # Untracked files:
    #   (use &quot;git add &lt;file&gt;...&quot; to include in what will be committed)
    #
    #    css/mobile.css

So Git now thinks I&#39;ve deleted one CSS file, and added a new one. It is not what I want. Let’s undo the rename and let Git do the work.

    &gt; $ git reset HEAD .
    Unstaged changes after reset:
    M    css/iphone.css
    M    index.html

I am back to where I began:

    &gt; $ git status
    # On branch master
    # Changes to be committed:
    #   (use &quot;git reset HEAD &lt;file&gt;...&quot; to unstage)
    #
    #    modified:   index.html
    #

Let&#39;s use `git mv` instead:

    &gt; $ git mv css/iphone.css css/mobile.css
    &gt; $ git status
    # On branch master
    # Changes to be committed:
    #   (use &quot;git reset HEAD &lt;file&gt;...&quot; to unstage)
    #
    #    renamed:    css/iphone.css -&gt; css/mobile.css
    #
    # Changed but not updated:
    #   (use &quot;git add &lt;file&gt;...&quot; to update what will be committed)
    #   (use &quot;git checkout -- &lt;file&gt;...&quot; to discard changes in working directory)
    #
    #    modified:   index.html
    #

It looks like we&#39;re good. So why didn&#39;t Git recognise the rename the first time around when I used Finder?

  [1]: https://bauermann.wordpress.com/2008/01/03/take-care-when-renaming-files-in-git/
  [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finder_(software)





Handling file renames in Git

From what I understand, Git doesn&#39;t really need to track *file* rename/move/copy operations, so what&#39;s the real purpose 
of [`git mv`][1]? The man page isn&#39;t specially descriptive...

Is it obsolete? Is it an internal command, not meant to be used by regular users?

[1]: https://git-scm.com/docs/git-mv

All Git Mv Solutions on Gang of Coders

Total of 2 Git Mv Solutions

Handling file renames in Git

What's the purpose of git-mv?